Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Emily's Runaway Imagination

Illustrations by Beth and Joe Krush, though the cover is a different artist.
I can't find the cover artist's name, but the inside illustrations are much more classic.


This is my favorite Beverly Cleary book, mostly because of my own memories around it. My maternal grandmother grew up on a farm around the same time this book is set, so a lot of the stories she told me about her childhood make me think of Emily. I took this book to my grandmother's house when I was younger and we took turns reading pages aloud to each other. The backdrop for this book photo is actually a patchwork pillow my grandmother made to really channel her spirit.

Emily is a more relatable character for me as well. Her imagination runs wild, yes, but she's not as mischievous as Ramona. As much as I love Ramona, she's much bolder than I am, so I liked seeing myself in Emily. Plus, Emily helps her small town start a library, so that's obviously something I'd love to read about.

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